The Democrat Vying For Eric Cantor's Seat Traveled To Romania To 'Study Dracula'

Colin Campbell, provided by

Published 1:48 pm, Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Democratic candidate hoping to win outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's congressional seat is more than just a Virginia college professor and a romance novelist. He's also an avid vampire enthusiast.

The candidate, Jack Trammell, told Business Insider Thursday he even once took his students "to Romania to study Dracula."

"Always been interested in the anthropology of the Other — in the case, of disability, two thousand years of being treated as less than human," Trammell, who works as director of Disability Support Services at Randolph-Macon College, wrote in an email when asked about his interest in vampires.

Trammell is working on a vampire novel but said it is currently on hold due to its complexity.

"The novel is in a holding pattern—lots of chapters, lots of gaps, lots of ideas—really fun to examine the anthropological and historical contexts," he said. "Sounds like as a stress reliever, I should plug back in to my Virginia Writer’s Club group and work on it, huh?"

Trammell was elevated in prominence Tuesday after Cantor was defeated in his Republican primary in a shocking upset by Dave Brat, who is also a Randolph-Macon College professor. Brat is favored in the November election for the conservative-leaning district.

Trammell did not respond to Business Insider's question about his favorite vampire-themed television show.